Catherine – My Virtual Girlfriend

I think I’ll be doing a full review on this one at somepoint but for those who haven’t yet played it I wanted to talk a bit about Catherine published by Atlus. It was on the PlayStation Plus as one of April’s free games. I was aware of it but had too many other games on the go to warrant a purchase when it came out and a big fan of Atlus published games anyway. Not only is it a very unique game (I can’t really compare it to anything else I’ve ever played) but it’s one of those rare games which genuinely has started to elicit an emotional response. I’ve had anger (at myself), shock, empathy, happiness, confusion, disbelief and I’m not even halfway through the game.

Essentially for those who don’t know, it’s a story of a 32 year old guy who is a little fed up of his current relationship with his girlfriend Catherine (she’s a bit serious and seems to complain a lot) and through some odd circumstances starts to have nightmares because things are weighing on his mind. His nightmares revolve around a maze of sorts in the shape of a tower which he has to climb... and he’s surrounded by sheep. It’s very surreal. Coupled with this, in the real world there have been unexplained murders of young men. After a few of the nightmares he ends up waking up next to another girl and has no memory as to how this happened or who she is... then it all gets interesting.

Without getting into any major plot points as not only am I not yet even half way through but it’s best to experience the story for yourself, the game mixes between conversations in your local pub (The Stray Sheep) with your friends (all voiced), anime style video scenes and your nightmares. The worlds blend into each other and certain decisions you make along the way really genuinely make you think about your own life. What I thought initially would be a fairly cut and dry set of decisions has become harder and harder the more I play to the point where I am really weighing up the options in my head – ‘What would I do if this was real life?’ thoughts. That’s the beauty of the game. I love games that have an emotional impact and this one keeps surprising me in ways I just didn’t expect – so many layers.

It’s a game that not only questions your thought processes (both with questions and increasingly challenging puzzle solving) but actually mimics many moments in my life or my friends lives and conversations we’ve had. It feels oddly ‘real’. Any game which has you really truly involved helping blur the lines between reality and fiction in a emotionally self aware way has my highest respect. Same feeling when I played Heavy Rain. Engrossing.

All I can say is that I’m going to keep playing it and see how it all turns out. I’m intrigued as how some of my decisions have helped shape my experiences in the game and how this impacts upon the ending.